1864
by starrtrek
Summary: In an effort to save Stefan from his doomed fate under Klaus, Bonnie sends Elena back to 1864 to kill Katherine and save Stefan and Damon's souls. But what happens when she falls for the charming, debonair 1864 Damon? Damon/Elena, Delena.
1. Chapter 1

This is originally posted on my tumblr, damon-loves-elena. If you want quicker updates/direct contact to me, you can find me there.

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><p><em>Dear Diary,<em>

_It's been two weeks since I last saw Stefan. Two weeks and fourteen hours, actually. _

_I've been staying at the Salvatore house (well, my house, technically) since he vanished. Jeremy is okay with it. Alaric has been staying over with Jeremy a lot so Jeremy doesn't get lonely. Frankly, I don't think Alaric wants to be alone either._

_Everything has been so dysfunctional in these past two weeks. Stefan has been gone. Matt won't speak to any of us. Jeremy has been off for awhile, and I don't know why. He's been avoiding me. The only people who come to visit me now are Caroline, Bonnie and Tyler. Oh, and Damon._

_I think something is going on with Tyler and Caroline. I've caught him holding her hand at least four times. On the flip side, I don't think Bonnie and Jeremy are doing too well. He's been odd with her too and nobody really knows why. Not even Alaric._

_I really miss Stefan. I don't know where he is and it's killing me. Damon says not to worry. He says Stefan always comes back. But I know Damon is hurting - he's run out of bourbon three times in two days. I wish I could get him to stop drinking but I just don't have the energy anymore. I don't think I'll ever have the energy to do anything now. Not if Stefan's gone._

"Elena."

Damon's voice broke Elena out of her reverie; she winced at the sudden sound. She has been sitting in utter silence for over three hours. Elena didn't look at Damon from her spot on the windowsill. The large window in the living room of the Salvatore house had a clear view of the front yard and woods. She had been keeping a constant vigil for Stefan since he left. When she wasn't wasting away at school or peeking in on Jeremy, she was sitting dutifully by the windowsill, diary in her lap, pen in her hand and her thoughts on Stefan. She'd even fall asleep there, but she'd always wake up on the couch with a blanket tucked around her. She kept on trying to remember to thank Damon, but she never did.

She wanted to be there when he came back. She wanted to see him and make sure he was alright. Katherine had been vague when it came to his condition; was he okay? Did Klaus hurt him? Was he…dead? Elena swallowed, not allowing herself to think of it. She had been tossing around scenario's in her head for the past fortnight, but they all danced around one core question; where's Stefan?

Damon didn't approve of her tactics. He often pitched his own opinion of the matter in. Like now.

"Elena-" he tried once more, his voice wary, his ice blue eyes soft.

"It's fine. I'm fine."

Silence. Then a sigh from Damon as he reached for a jug of bourbon. Elena watched his reflection from the window, not wanting to meet his eyes. Elena and Damon had been distant, at best, since the night Stefan disappeared. He allowed her to stay overnight and stay by the window, but other than a few attempts at breaking her away, he didn't say much to her. Elena didn't have anything to say anyway. She barely wanted to look at Damon after the stunt they had pulled…well, what she had pulled.

Damon took a deep swig of alcohol before slamming the glass back down on the wooden table in the living room, already pouring himself another glass. "Face it, Elena," he said, his eyes wandering towards the front door. "It's been too long. Klaus wouldn't have toyed with him for this long. It's over." Another swallow of bourbon.

Elena couldn't help but send him a quick glare. "This isn't a time to be pessimistic," she retorted. "Besides, you don't know how Klaus works." She turned to look back out the window, trying to ignore the pouring of yet another glass.

"Face it," Damon repeated, sounding worn. "Stefan's not coming back." Elena's hand balled into fists in her lap. Normally Damon didn't spare her a sentence. Now he was trying to destroy every ounce of hope she had in the span of five minutes?

Elena turned her shoulder to him, scowling into the glass. "It's almost as if you don't care either way whether he comes back or not. It's like you want him to be gone," Elena told the window, watching Damon's reflection carefully in the glass.

She watched Damon close his eyes and breathe deeply. When he opened his eyes again, she could see the white hot fury in them. She instantly regretted what she had said. "You have to be joking. If I didn't care, Elena, I'd be gone by now. I'd forget him, forget you, and high tail it out of here so quickly you'd think I never existed," Damon snapped, and suddenly he was there, right in front of her at the window. She kept staring away, trying to avoid his eyes. Damon continued. "I've wanted to leave since the day I found out it was Katherine I kissed, not you," Damon admitted breathlessly, and Elena could see his hands in his hair. "But I can't. I can't just leave. Not if I don't know that Stefan is alright, and I will never leave you alone," Damon swore. Elena felt his hand on her cold shoulder. She shakily shrugged it off.

Elena was silent for a moment. She put her head down in her hands and whispered, "I just wish Stefan was here."

Damon said nothing. He simply leaned back against the table, observing Elena coolly. Elena shuddered under his gaze, looking determinedly into her lap. They stayed that way for awhile. She didn't want to know what was going through his head. She knew he had every right to be angry with her. She hadn't been the most cooperative tenant in the past fortnight.

Some period of time later Damon spoke, his words sullen, his voice rich with remorse. "I should have been more careful. I shouldn't have listened to Caroline, I should have kept the Lockwood kid locked up tight-" he was rambling, his eyes staring blankly into the fireplace, "-none of this would have happened if I hadn't been bitten-" at this, his voice rose to a shout as he threw his glass at the brick wall of the fireplace, seething.

"Damon, stop," Elena demanded, finally giving in and looking at Damon. His icy blue eyes, wide in a mild panic, met her dark, soothing ones. He pursed his lips as Elena stood from the window sill for the first time in what felt like a decade. She walked towards him, giving them a wide berth of space. She crossed her arms. "We can't blame ourselves for this. Something must have happened, something beyond our control…" She trailed as a picture of Stefan flashed in her mind, a picture of him injured or upset. She couldn't shake the feeling that something seriously wrong had happened.

Damon kept his gaze on her, but his eyes started to narrow a little, the momentary loss of control fading. He let out a breath, putting his hands to his face. "This is all my fault. I'm so sorry, Elena…everything is a God damn mess because of me," he muttered, gripping his hair in his hands. Elena couldn't bear his despair. Without thinking, she wrapped her arms tightly around Damon's waist, pressing her cheek against his body. In the heat of the moment, she forgot about how worried she was supposed to be about Stefan. She could only think of how warm and safe she felt so close to Damon.

She could feel Damon's hands stroking her long hair, his lips pressing against the top of her head. "Elena…" he murmured, his voice soft and whispering, his lips moving down to her ear. He pressed them to the skin beneath her ear, the softness of his lips caressing the top of her neck. Elena felt heat in her core, her gut dropping as she pulled back to look at Damon. She could see the anticipation and rapid excitement in his eyes as they peered into hers, his forehead leaning in to touch hers. It had been two weeks since she had done the one thing she swore would never happen. Two weeks since she had let all of her guards down and sacrificed everything for a moment. Two weeks since she had felt such an intoxicating pleasure in the depths of her heart as she did now.

Two weeks since she had kissed Damon.

Elena knew how hard it was for Damon to just sit back and let her wallow over Stefan. She knew how hard it was for him to deal with the fact that whatever had happened to Stefan was directly his fault. Elena shared many of her conflicting feelings with the man who confused her most of all - Damon himself. It had been hard for her to communicate her feelings to Damon, so she had simply ignored them altogether. Now, realizing Damon's true desire, she had not chosen the right path.

"Damon, no," she whispered, reaching up to take his hands away from her hair. Damon allowed her, but his forehead still remained pressed against hers as he swayed against her. He intertwined his fingers with hers and held them to his chest, his breath tickling her lips.

"You can't possibly understand how I feel," Damon murmured, not threatening, but confessing. "I want Stefan home safe and sound, but at the same time I want him to leave us forever," Elena's breath shook here, but Damon continued, "I want you to be the happiest you can be, but I want you to be with me. Those things don't usually come hand in hand," he said, closing his eyes. Elena felt his thumbs rub the skin of her hand tenderly. She felt her eyes closing as well. She knew it would happen again. They were so close. She could almost feel him under her skin, ripping at every belief and every feeling she thought she had…

"Well, well. What do we have here?"

Elena snapped back from Damon, wrenching her hands out of his as she looked towards the front door. Damon swore under his breath and Elena felt his hand wrap around her wrist as Katherine leered at them from the front door.

"Who would have ever guessed that Elena would follow directly in my footsteps?" Katherine wondered, smirking as she took a step into the house. Elena felt Damon's grip on her wrist tighten. "It's almost as if we're the same person. Looks, taste in men…it's all there."

"I'm nothing like you," Elena said, taking a step forward to prove to Katherine that her sarcastic comments didn't intimidate her. Unfortunately, Damon's hand was too tightly wrapped around Elena's wrist that she could barely move an inch.

Katherine just smirked, tilting her head lazily.

"I suggest you slide your ass on out of here, Katherine," Damon snarled, his blue eyes sharp. "I've been known to be a little trigger happy after a few drinks."

Katherine rolled her eyes, taking a step forward. Elena felt Damon's hand tighten. "Is that the thanks I get for saving your life, Damon?" Katherine asked, crossing her arms. "That hardly seems fair." She gave Damon one last playful look before turning to Elena. "I just came for Elena anyway, so you can go back to womanizing and getting hammered like your normal self."

Elena frowned. "Why would you need me?" Damon looked at her, his expression warning, but Elena ignored it. "And why are you even back here? I would've thought you'd leave town as soon as you could."

"Oh, I did," Katherine confirmed, then she groaned. "But Klaus and Stefan gave me probably six hours before they ended up in DC, where I was staying. Damn them," Katherine uttered under her breath. "What was the point of letting me go if they'd capture me so soon anyway?"

Elena watched Katherine warily. She knew well enough not to trust her doppelganger, and it didn't make sense for Stefan to be with Klaus and help him capture Katherine. She watched Katherine muttering and said, "Why was Stefan with Klaus?"

Katherine looked up slowly, her smirk returning to her face as she eyed Elena. Elena shuddered. "Oh, don't you know?" Katherine toyed, looking between Damon and Elena. She laughed, a tinkling, light sound. Damon let out a huff of breath in response. "Stefan's joined the dark side," she said melodramatically, looking at her nails. "I apologize for not being clearer two weeks ago. Stefan's joined up with Klaus. He's drinking human blood, slaying damsels in distress…the whole bit."

Elena could see that Katherine was speaking, but she could no longer hear a word of what she was saying. Stefan…human blood? Murdering? Elena felt as if someone had let the air out of a balloon in her head. She started to feel faint. Her wrist began slipping out of Damon's grip, which had suddenly slackened. She tried to shake her head, because no, what Katherine was saying couldn't possibly be true.

Before she realized what was happening, Elena felt an arm wrap around her neck from behind, crushing her to a hard chest. Katherine had Elena in a vice grip, towing her out of the front door. Elena tried to fight back, but Katherine was much too strong.

"Elena!" she heard Damon cry, but she couldn't see him. Katherine's other arm was draped over her eyes. "Don't cross me, Katherine. I won't hesitate to rip your heart out."

"Too bad I can't believe that," Katherine huffed out; Elena was putting up a furious fight. "You've had, what, at least a hundred chances to kill me these past few months? And have you taken any of them?" Elena tried to reach up and claw at Katherine's face, but Katherine suddenly moved her grip to Elena's forearms, locking them at her side. Elena let out a small gasp of pain. She saw Damon make a move towards them.

"Uh oh," Katherine murmured, eyeing Damon. "Looks like Elena and I aren't too similar; she's much more fragile." Elena felt Katherine's fingernails piercing her skin. Elena cried out, trying to wriggle out of Katherine's grasp.

Elena heard Katherine choke as Damon was there suddenly, his hands squeezing tightly around her neck. Katherine's face turned bright red as she sputtered, her grip on Elena loosening. Damon looked murderous.

"Get your damn hands off of her," Damon snapped, shoving both Katherine and Elena into the bookshelves of the library behind them.

"Let go of me," Katherine said viciously, all humor gone. Miraculously, Damon relented, his hands slipping from Katherine's throat. She glared at him. "Stefan, Klaus and I are going to England to rally up a hybrid army. Klaus wants you to join us, Damon. He wants Elena as well. He wants her to be the second hybrid in history," she told him, regaining her breath back. Elena started shaking in Katherine's hold.

"Over my dead body," Damon growled, his eyes flashing indignantly.

Katherine shrugged. Elena then felt the pain in her arms subsiding as Katherine released her, pushing her into Damon's chest. Damon wrapped his arms around Elena tightly, and she reciprocated, her arms winding around Damon's waist as she slid her cheek against his chest, her misery jumpstarting back inside her as she thought of Stefan.

Elena heard Damon take a sharp breath as Katherine turned around, looking towards the front door. "Well, hello Stefan."

Elena wrenched her head from Damon's chest. It felt like time had stopped when her eyes landed on Stefan, her Stefan. He stood in the open doorway to the Salvatore house, his eyes dark, his mouth twitched in a grimace. Elena longed to reach out and grab him, but something held her back. The blacks of his eyes seemed hollow, depthless. They hardly seemed to fit onto his beautiful face. It made no sense to see Stefan they way he was. Just two weeks ago, it had all been fine. Two weeks ago, he had reassured her that nothing would happen and he'd be alright.

Stefan wasn't alright.

"Stefan," Katherine purred, sauntering over to Stefan's side. Elena felt burning hatred towards Katherine as she laced a hand over Stefan's cheek. Elena tried to move blindly, wanting to smack Katherine into oblivion, but Damon's arms kept her trapped in his embrace.

"Stefan, your brother won't come," Katherine pouted, glancing at Damon. "I don't think Klaus wants us to kill him, but if it means getting Elena-"

"You won't be killing anyone tonight," Stefan spoke softly, his voice dark, ominous. Elena shivered. She felt Damon's arms tighten.

Katherine looked taken aback. "Klaus wanted us to use any means necessary to take Elena," Katherine said slowly, looking up at Stefan peculiarly. She dropped her hand from Stefan's face and frowned up at him. Stefan turned towards her, his lips half upturned in a twisted smile.

"There's been a change of plans," Stefan responded simply. Katherine let out a loud, horrible gasp, backing away from Stefan.

Stefan had moved so fast that Elena hadn't even seen him push the stake into Katherine's heart.

All of her previous hatred towards Katherine faded as she saw her mirror image slide to the floor, her dark eyes wide, her mouth open in the question that was spoken: why? She fell to the ground, her dark tresses crumpling beneath her, her skin cracking. Damon let out a small groan. Elena realized that Damon was no longer by her side. He was pushed up against the wall, Stefan holding his lapel above his head.

"Stefan, stop it!" Elena shouted at him, her shock wearing off. She reached over to throw a book at Stefan, but suddenly, he was there, gripping her wrist. He pinned it above her head, his eyes directly in front of hers as he bared his fangs at her.

"What's wrong with you?" Elena choked, tears streaming down her face rapidly as Stefan pushed hair away from her neck. "Whatever he did to you, Stefan, I don't care. I don't care, just please stop and don't do this."

"He didn't do anything to me, Elena," Stefan whispered, leaning in to press his lips to her throat. "I was never completely honest with you about my past. I never told you all of the horrible things I did. You think Damon is bad? You don't know me."

"I know you, Stefan," Elena argued, trying to squirm out of his reach. "You're a good person. You-"

"No!" Stefan shouted, shaking. "I can't be that way anymore. Klaus…he, he changed me. I don't know what to do, Elena. But I can't stop. I have to do what he says or he'll kill you and Damon," Stefan said pitifully, tears in his eyes. He then leaned in closer to Elena's neck. She could feel the stinging of his teeth breaking her skin.

"Damon," Elena cried out for help, seeing Damon's crumpled form on the floor. What had Stefan done to him? What was he doing to her?

Stefan kept draining the life out of her, just like Klaus had on the alter. "Stefan," Elena shouted, pushing his chest away with her good hand. "You don't have to do this, we can help you-"

Elena was cut off by Stefan wrapping his arms around her waist and picking her up, swinging her into his arms bridal style. Stefan then sprinted towards the front door and out into the crisp evening. Elena knew it was over. Stefan had been tricked by Klaus and now she'd be dead or a hybrid or miserable and she'd never see Damon or her family again. But before Stefan was across the front lawn of the Salvatore house, he was shoved down from behind. Elena fell to the grass, rolling onto her side as she let out a surprised breath. Before she had time to gather herself, she was once more picked up off of the ground. Elena started struggling, attempting to push the person away.

"Elena, stop, it's me," Damon said hastily, pulling her around to look her in the eyes. Elena just stared at him, unsure of what to do or say. She felt like her entire world was crashing down on her. She was drowning in her own misery.

Damon took her hands and pulled her back inside the house, right across the threshold. She heard a roar from behind them. Elena spun around to see Stefan right outside the doorway, ready to step in. Elena had enough. She glared at him through her tears and said firmly, "No, Stefan, you can not come inside."

Nothing happened.

Elena's mouth opened in surprise as Stefan tried to push body through the doorframe, but nothing happened. It was as if an invisible wall had jumped up in front of Stefan, blocking him from entering. Damon stared, his eyes wide.

"That's impossible…" he murmured. Elena shook from all of the emotion building up inside of her. Anger, resentment, despair, loss, terror…they all balled up in her core like a fire being fanned.

Stefan started slamming his hand against the wooden doorframe, as if to break it down. Damon instinctively reached out to pull Elena towards him, but she resisted. "Stefan…what happened to you?" she asked quietly, meeting his sad eyes.

Stefan let out hollow breaths, trembling. "Klaus," he rasped out. "This is all…Klaus's fault." Stefan then glanced behind him worriedly. "I have to go."

Elena could barely bring herself to speak. She looked at the ground and murmured a small, "Why?"

For a moment, Stefan looked humane. He lowered his hands, his brow becoming furrowed. "It was the only way to save Damon's life," he admitted, frowning.

Elena glanced at Damon, who looked as though he had been sucker punched in the stomach. After all those times of blaming Damon for terrorizing Stefan, she now felt a strange sense of protectiveness over him. Elena felt sick. She could feel her knees buckling until Damon slid an arm around her, holding her upright.

Stefan grimaced at seeing Damon touch Elena. He turned around, heading back towards the forest. "I'll have to be back for Elena soon," Stefan called back to them, warning. "And this time, I won't be alone." Stefan gave Elena one last penetrating look before disappearing into the dark. As soon as he disappeared, Elena felt herself crumbling. Damon pulled her into him, muffling his face into her shoulder.

"Damon…what do we do?" she asked shakily, mechanically hugging him back.

Damon was silent for a moment, and then he pulled away from Elena, reaching into his pocket to grab his phone. "I'm going to call Ric," Damon told her, "and you should call Bonnie. We're going to figure this out. We have to fix Stefan."


	2. Chapter 2

Elena paced back and forth in the foyer of the Salvatore house, wringing her hands as rapid thoughts raced through her mind. She knew that whatever Bonnie was bringing to help Stefan was huge. She knew it would change everything. When she had spoken to Bonnie on the phone, it was as if Bonnie had already made up her mind on what she would do to help Stefan. Elena seriously hoped that Bonnie wasn't about to pull another "I'm protecting Elena by hurting Stefan or Damon" trick. There wasn't any time for that. For all they knew, Stefan had lied about coming back, and he was already on the way to England with Klaus.

Damon had been in charge of getting rid of Katherine's body. It was eerie to watch Damon pick up the broken body of Katherine and sling her over his shoulder, her empty eyes staring into Elena's. She wondered how Damon was feeling having watched his brother kill the woman he had been obsessed with for 145 years. Elena knew Damon hated Katherine now, but there was still that gnawing in the back of her head. She knew that it didn't matter how much Damon hated Katherine; he had once loved her with every fiber in his being, and that's all that mattered. If it had been Matt dead on the floor instead of Katherine, Elena knew she'd feel something too.

The door opened as Damon stepped inside, wiping his hands on his pants. "It's done," Damon said, frowning. He closed the door and sighed. "I never actually thought the bitch would die. She was always so untouchable."

Elena couldn't help but scoff lightly at his words. "We all know that's not exactly true," she said, eyeing Damon. Damon's mouth twitched upward for a moment, but then stopped, as if it weren't supposed to be smiling. Elena grimaced, looking away from Damon. She heard Damon walk towards the alcohol cabinet, and she was about to protest when she heard a knock on the door. Elena rose to answer it, but Damon held up a hand, motioning her to stay put. He neared the door and opened it cautiously. He let out a sigh of relief.

"It's about time you showed up," Damon said, opening the door wider to let Alaric in. Alaric rolled his eyes.

"Not all of us can carry a mass amount of vampire killing weapons at the speed of light," Alaric told him, stepping into the house and placing his case of stakes and guns on the couch in the living room. He smiled briefly at Elena before opening it and withdrawing a few wooden bullets and sliding them into a gun.

Before Damon could shut the door, Bonnie flitted in, the old grimoire of Emily Bennett tucked under her arm. She barely looked at Damon before racing over to Elena. Behind her was Tyler Lockwood, who looked warily at Damon before stepping over the threshold.

"Nope," Damon said flatly, raising his arms to push Tyler out. "No dogs allowed. Especially ones with a bite."

"Come on, man," Tyler protested, scowling. "It's not even the full moon."

"I'm well aware," Damon snapped, "I have a scar on my arm that reminds me when the last full moon was."

Caroline appeared at Tyler's side, arms crossed, an annoyed look on her face. "Just let him in, Damon. We can help. Both of us," she said.

Damon looked at her incredulously. "Interesting proposition, Blondie, but the last time I listened to you, my arm almost got chewed off," Damon pointed towards the road. "Clear out."

Elena bit the inside of her cheek. "I think Damon's right, Caroline. I don't want either of you getting hurt," she said, glancing at Bonnie, who frowned and reached out to rub Elena's shoulder.

Tyler cocked his head. "No offense, Elena, but I think Caroline and I can hold our own more than you can," he smirked, nudging Caroline, who grinned. Damon rolled his eyes from the door. Elena just sighed.

"Alright fine, you can both come in," Elena relented, waving a hand. Caroline smiled sweetly at Damon as she crossed the threshold. Tyler just scurried by him as if scared that Damon would attack him. Elena was secretly glad that Caroline and Tyler had shown up. She needed as much help as she could get.

Damon shut the door and turned back towards the group of people in the house. "Here's the deal. Stefan is with Klaus now. We can't trust anything he says or does. While we're forming our nefarious scheme to get him back to normal, you two," he pointed at Caroline and Tyler, "will help defend the house from Stefan and Klaus with the assistance of Alaric while Elena, Bonnie and I plan our next move. Understand?" Caroline nodded, taking Tyler's hand and pulling him over to the couch where Alaric had his tools. The three of them began covering as Bonnie laid out the grimoire on the table, flipping through the pages carefully.

Elena peered over her shoulder, glancing at the pages as they were passed. "You already have a plan, don't you, Bonnie?" she asked, looking at her friend. Bonnie raised her head grimly, her eyes enigmatic.

"Yes," she replied shortly, and then quieted as she perused the pages, reading through them quickly with intense concentration. Damon had his arms crossed from next to her, his eyes on Alaric's vampire weapon teaching lesson with Caroline and Tyler. Elena knew that Damon had a hard time with witch stuff. She could think of more than enough times when he had been on the bad end of a spell. But she also knew that Damon was at a point where he would do anything to get Stefan right again. Elena was at that point as well. And she had a feeling that whatever they needed to do for Bonnie would need an attitude of desperation.

Damon interrupted Bonnie's reading. "Something happened when Stefan was here. Elena told him he couldn't come in the house and suddenly he couldn't. I know it's not possible for a vampire to lose his invitation into a house unless there's a new owner, and Elena already invited him in-"

"Elena is a doppelganger," Bonnie cut in, "she's not entirely human. She has the ability to take back invitations from vampires."

Elena couldn't help but laugh lightly. "That would've come in handy all those times you broke into my room," Elena shot at Damon. Damon raised an eyebrow.

"It's hardly breaking in if the occupant is stupid enough to leave the window wide open," Damon replied, grinning. Elena just gave him a dry look before looking back at the grimoire.

"So what's the plan?" Elena asked, her morose mood returning. Bonnie paused on a certain page and put her finger on it. She closed her eyes, as if trying to read the page in her mind from memory. Then, her eyes opened, and she looked between Damon and Elena.

"This will be unlike anything we've ever done before," Bonnie said, interlocking her fingers. Elena leaned forward, her heart racing. Damon looked intrigued as well as he looked at the grimoire. After reading something, however, he snapped back, shaking his head.

"No. No way. Not possible," he muttered, waving his hands. "And even if it were, there's not way she's going back there."

Bonnie looked distastefully at Damon as Elena looked at her in anticipation. "What, Bonnie, what is it?" she asked, wondering how terrible it really was. Bonnie gave her one last look before turning back to the book.

"After reading through her grimoire for the past year," Bonnie began, "I've discovered something. Emily hated Katherine. Katherine didn't respect a witch's solidarity towards other witch's. She only wanted a witch's power to fulfill her own evil deeds. Emily no longer wanted to be bound to Katherine, so she created a spell that could take away Katherine's vampire soul," Bonnie said, pausing. Elena got very excited.

"Wait, so we can just take away Stefan's vampire abilities?" Elena asked, thrilled. "Why didn't you tell me that before?" If Stefan turned human, he wouldn't be able to hurt anyone. He'd be able to live his life normally. He could even have a family. _With me… _Elena found herself thinking. She looked over at Damon. He had a strange look on his face.

"It's not that simple," Bonnie said, deflating Elena's happiness. "There's a certain way it must be done. If done wrong, there would be disastrous consequences." Bonnie then folded the grimoire open, placing it flat against the table. "Emily thought that if she could go back to when Katherine was human, she could prevent her from turning into a vampire. Then by holding Katherine's human soul in suspension, she could return to 1864 and find a very human Katherine," Bonnie said as she read the page. Elena was still confused.

"Suspension?" she pondered, frowning.

"It's like the spell I had when we tried to kill Klaus when he was in Alaric's body," Bonnie said. "I died, but then I came back. Like you did during the ritual." Elena shuddered, the imprints of the ritual still haunting her. Bonnie continued. "What I'm saying is, Elena…we could go back to 1864. We could kill Katherine so that Stefan would never be turned into a vampire. If I hold his soul in suspension, he'll still be here when we get back as a human."

Elena was silent. There were many crazy things that Elena had been forced to believe in. Vampires, witches, werewolves, hybrids…but time travel? Of all of them, it sounded a bit far fetched. Elena shook her head. "You don't even know if that will work, Bonnie," Elena said slowly, feeling her hope fade.

"Exactly," Damon said loudly, moving over to shut the grimoire. "We'll just have to think of something else." As soon as his fingers touched the pages of the book, his skin sizzled, his fingertips turning bright red. Damon let out yelp as he snatched is hand back, rubbing it angrily. Bonnie ignored him, looking at Elena.

"I'm afraid it's the best we can do," Bonnie said sadly. "I looked through the whole grimoire, Elena. This would be the best thing."

"No," Damon argued, his fingers still red. He moved over to Elena, putting his hands on her shoulders. "This will never work, Elena, trust me. I've put up with this hocus pocus for long enough. Time travel is impossible."

"It's real, Damon," Bonnie said, scowling. "Emily was a very powerful witch. It'll work."

"If it works then why didn't she do it in the first place?" Damon countered. "Why didn't Katherine die in 1864?"

"Emily was burned at the stake, Damon," Bonnie replied thickly. "It was the last spell in her grimoire." Sure enough, as Elena turned the next page, she was met with a blank one. She drew her hand back, looking away from the book. Damon's hands squeezed her shoulders.

"Listen to me, Elena," Damon said quietly, shaking her a little. "This will not work. You have to trust me. It's too much. We can find another way. Please just listen to me," Damon pleaded, his ice eyes gleaming. Elena reached up to grasp Damon's hands and bring them down to his side. She squeezed his hands softly before letting go and turning to Bonnie.

"Alright," she agreed, tucking her hair behind her ear. "Let's do this.

* * *

><p>They all sat in a circle. Bonnie sat directly across from Elena, her palms open wide in her lap. On either side of her was Caroline and Tyler, who both looked cautious. Alaric was on Elena's left while Damon was on Elena's right, his eyes glued to Elena. The grimoire lay in the middle, open to the last spell in the book.<p>

"You sure about this, Bonnie?" Tyler asked, hesitant. Bonnie ignored him, looking at Elena.

"When we get to 1864, we have to find Emily, and quickly. I'm only planning on us being there for a few hours. Nobody but her can see us. Once we find her, we'll need to tell her the plan and hope she'll go along with it. Then we'll find Katherine," Bonnie said, her fingers flexing repeatedly. "I'm putting Stefan's soul in suspension right now so that he'll still be here when we come back."

"What about Damon?" Elena asked, concerned. "If we kill Katherine, won't that affect Damon too?"

Bonnie eyed Damon like he was an insect and said nothing. Alaric cut in, "I would think twice about this, Elena. If you don't do this right, you could very well end up killing both Stefan and Damon." Elena looked at Damon, whose eyes were staring unseeingly out the window. Elena reached over to grab his hand.

"Damon…"

"Yeah, whatever," Damon said stiffly, standing up and walking out of the room. Elena cast Bonnie an apologetic look before getting up and following Damon into the study. He had his hands on his desk, his back bent and turned to her. Elena moved towards him slowly, unsure of what to say.

That's when she realized that Damon's shoulders were shaking. Was he…crying? Elena put her hands on his back tentatively, trying to turn him around. "Damon, look at me," Elena demanded. His back rose and lowered once more, and then Damon turned to her. He wasn't crying, but he didn't look too far off from it.

"You can't do this," Damon whispered, his hands finding hers. He looked her deeply in the eyes and Elena felt that familiar tug that she did when Damon looked at her so intently she feared he could see her soul. His hands left hers to cup her face as he leaned in a pressed his lips to her forehead. "I can't let you do this."

"I can do what I want," Elena argued softly, pulling back from his lips. She couldn't give herself over to him. She couldn't let herself fall for his despair. She had to be strong-willed. She had to do what she knew was right.

Damon shook his head against her forehead, letting out a staggering breath. "You have no idea what things were like back then," Damon said, his fingers touching her cheeks. "Stefan was different. I was different. You don't need to be there," he told her.

Elena realized that she hadn't asked for Damon's approval on the spell. She had been so selfishly thinking about herself and Stefan's well being that she hadn't even stopped to think if it was what Damon wanted. If everything worked, Damon would turn human as well.

"If this works, Damon," Elena said, leaning back from him. "You don't have to stay human. You could just have Caroline change you back."

"There is nothing I want more than to be human with you for the rest of our lives," Damon said soundly, and with that, he leaned in to kiss her softly on the lips. Elena knew she should have fought back, but with the thought of there being a chance that Damon could die while she was in 1864 in her mind, Elena couldn't do much but kiss him back, her hands firmly on his chest. It lasted only a moment, nothing more than the first kiss they had shared only two weeks ago. Damon pulled back first, his hands leaving her face and instead curling around her hands.

They stayed in that familiar embrace that they felt so comfortable in together for a few minutes. They said nothing, but simply breathed, living in the moment that would soon die. Elena had no idea what would happen when she returned. Damon could be human, and so could Stefan. But how could she leave Damon alone in the dark to be with Stefan now? That thought had been echoing in her mind ever since she had kissed Damon two weeks ago. She could feel in her core the power of the emotions she had for Damon. They consumed her and ate her up on the inside whenever she thought of Stefan. She felt guilty and she felt dirty. She felt like she was Katherine, and Katherine was the last person on Earth she wanted to be.

There was a knock on the study door. Elena reluctantly pulled away from Damon, looking into his eyes earnestly. Damon reached out and brushed the hair away from Elena's eyes as Caroline peeked in. "Bonnie needs you, Elena," she said. "It's time."

Elena gave Damon one more heartfelt look before exiting with Caroline. Damon didn't follow.

Elena and Caroline took their original seats. Bonnie closed her eyes. Alaric patted Elena on the back. "Caroline, Tyler and I will hold down the fort until you guys get back," Alaric assured her. "We'll keep Klaus and Stefan out."

"Don't hurt him," Elena warned gently as Bonnie took Caroline and Tyler's hands. Elena took Alaric's and had to reach over to grab Tyler's. Damon was still in the study. Elena glanced at the door to the study, wishing he'd come back out.

Bonnie opened her eyes slowly, peering at Elena. "You ready?"

Elena took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "I'm ready."

Bonnie began to recite Latin as the air in the room picked up to a small breeze. As Bonnie chanted, Elena focused her thoughts on Stefan, trying to ignore the images of Damon popping up in her mind. She thought of him in the study. On his bed, dying. In front of her at Duke, taking a bullet for her. She could see Stefan with his eyes red and blood dripping from his mouth after Miss Mystic Falls. Locking him in the small room in the Salvatore basement. Staying there while Damon sat dutifully by her side.

The wind started to pick up to a gale. Papers were flying everywhere, books flew off the shelves, and Elena could hear things falling down. She kept her eyes shut, even when she heard Bonnie scream, "No!"

Elena heard two doors burst open, but before she could look, she felt the sensation of being lifted off her feet. It was as if she was in the middle of a tornado. She could barely hear anything beside the wind, but she could've sworn she heard Damon's voice in a scream, shouting, "Elena!" She tried to respond to him, but his voice disappeared like somebody had changed the station on the radio. She tried to move, but her body was locked. She let out a scream as she suddenly fell down, her body spinning as if going down a drain.

And then it all stopped. Elena hit the ground hard, the wind knocked out of her. She coughed, putting her palms on the dirt ground, attempting to pull herself up. She rolled over on her back and writhed in slight pain, her eyes still squeezed shut. Elena brought herself to her knees and stood up, brushing dirt off of her body. She opened her eyes.

In front of her was something she recognized. The Lockwood mansion. At least she thought it was the Lockwood mansion. It looked the same, except slightly newer, as if it had just been built. Elena shook her head, the realization dawning on her as she caught her surroundings. The dirt roads. The starry sky from lack of electricity. The eerie silence.

The spell had worked. Elena was in 1864. Alone.


End file.
